1961 British Chess Championship, Aberystwyth, 14-25 August • 1960« »1962

1961 British Chess Championship		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Total
1	Jonathan Penrose	♦ 1/30	◊ 1/31	♦ 1/10	◊ 1/29	♦ ½/3	◊ ½/2	♦ 1/5	◊ 1/7	♦ 0/4	♦ 1/8	◊ ½/9	8½
2	Peter Hugh Clarke	♦ 1/22	◊ ½/7	♦ ½/4	◊ 1/10	◊ ½/8	♦ ½/1	◊ 1/11	♦ ½/3	◊ ½/5	♦ ½/9	◊ 1/14	7½
3	Robert Graham Wade	♦ ½/4	◊ 1/19	♦ 1/7	♦ ½/16	◊ ½/1	◊ 1/17	♦ ½/8	◊ ½/2	◊ 1/12	♦ ½/14	◊ ½/5	7½
4	Leonard William Barden	◊ ½/3	♦ 1/33	◊ ½/2	♦ ½/11	◊ 0/7	♦ 1/23	◊ 1/18	♦ ½/8	◊ 1/1	♦ 0/5	◊ 1/17	7
5	Cenek Kottnauer	♦ 1/21	◊ 0/10	♦ ½/31	◊ 1/14	♦ 1/15	♦ ½/16	◊ 0/1	◊ 1/17	♦ ½/2	◊ 1/4	♦ ½/3	7
6	Harry Golombek	◊ 1/9	♦ 0/16	◊ ½/32	♦ ½/12	◊ 1/26	♦ ½/24	♦ ½/17	◊ ½/10	♦ ½/13	◊ 1/22	♦ 1/7	7
7	Michael J Franklin	◊ 1/23	♦ ½/2	◊ 0/3	♦ 1/32	♦ 1/4	◊ ½/8	◊ 1/9	♦ 0/1	◊ ½/14	♦ 1/10	◊ 0/6	6½
8	James Macrae Aitken	♦ ½/19	◊ ½/15	♦ 1/22	◊ 1/13	♦ ½/2	♦ ½/7	◊ ½/3	◊ ½/4	♦ 1/18	◊ 0/1	♦ ½/11	6½
9	Adrian Swayne Hollis	♦ 0/6	◊ ½/21	♦ ½/34	◊ 1/20	♦ 1/10	◊ 1/29	♦ 0/7	◊ ½/13	♦ 1/11	◊ ½/2	♦ ½/1	6½
10	David George Springgay	◊ 1/27	♦ 1/5	◊ 0/1	♦ 0/2	◊ 0/9	♦ 1/26	◊ 1/21	♦ ½/6	◊ 1/16	◊ 0/7	♦ ½/13	6
11	Michael John Haygarth	♦ 1/25	◊ ½/14	♦ ½/13	◊ ½/4	♦ ½/29	◊ 1/15	♦ 0/2	♦ ½/12	◊ 0/9	♦ 1/21	◊ ½/8	6
12	Peter Campbell Gibbs	♦ ½/13	◊ ½/25	♦ ½/14	◊ ½/6	♦ 1/21	♦ ½/18	◊ 1/16	◊ ½/11	♦ 0/3	◊ ½/19	♦ ½/15	6
13	Bernard Cafferty	◊ ½/12	♦ 1/26	◊ ½/11	♦ 0/8	◊ ½/23	♦ 1/27	◊ ½/24	♦ ½/9	◊ ½/6	♦ ½/15	◊ ½/10	6
14	Clifford George Hilton	◊ ½/32	♦ ½/11	◊ ½/12	♦ 0/5	◊ ½/27	♦ 1/30	♦ 1/29	◊ 1/24	♦ ½/7	◊ ½/3	♦ 0/2	6
15	Patrick Bennett	◊ ½/26	♦ ½/8	◊ ½/23	♦ 1/28	◊ 0/5	♦ 0/11	◊ 1/32	♦ ½/16	♦ 1/24	◊ ½/13	◊ ½/12	6
16	Alan Phillips	♦ 1/20	◊ 1/6	♦ ½/29	◊ ½/3	♦ 0/17	◊ ½/5	♦ 0/12	◊ ½/15	♦ 0/10	◊ 1/30	♦ ½/22	5½
17	Frank Parr	◊ ½/33	♦ ½/32	◊ 1/28	♦ ½/24	◊ 1/16	♦ 0/3	◊ ½/6	♦ 0/5	♦ ½/30	◊ 1/18	♦ 0/4	5½
18	David Edward Lloyd	♦ 0/31	◊ ½/22	♦ ½/21	◊ 1/25	♦ 1/19	◊ ½/12	♦ 0/4	◊ 1/29	◊ 0/8	♦ 0/17	◊ 1/27	5½
19	John A Lawrence	◊ ½/8	♦ 0/3	◊ ½/33	♦ ½/27	◊ 0/18	◊ 1/34	♦ ½/22	♦ 1/26	◊ ½/21	♦ ½/12	◊ ½/20	5½
20	Percy Baldwin Cook	◊ 0/16	♦ ½/24	◊ ½/27	♦ 0/9	◊ 1/33	♦ ½/32	◊ ½/23	♦ 0/21	◊ 1/34	◊ 1/28	♦ ½/19	5½
21	Owen Mark Hindle	◊ 0/5	♦ ½/9	◊ ½/18	♦ 1/33	◊ 0/12	◊ 1/31	♦ 0/10	◊ 1/20	♦ ½/19	◊ 0/11	♦ ½/25	5
22	Raymond Brunton Edwards	◊ 0/2	♦ ½/18	◊ 0/8	♦ 0/30	◊ 1/28	♦ 1/33	◊ ½/19	♦ ½/23	◊ 1/26	♦ 0/6	◊ ½/16	5
23	Jeffrey Ansell	♦ 0/7	◊ 1/30	♦ ½/15	◊ ½/31	♦ ½/13	◊ 0/4	♦ ½/20	◊ ½/22	♦ ½/25	♦ ½/27	◊ ½/24	5
24	Baruch Harold Wood	♦ 0/29	◊ ½/20	♦ 1/30	◊ ½/17	♦ 1/31	◊ ½/6	♦ ½/13	♦ 0/14	◊ 0/15	◊ ½/25	♦ ½/23	5
25	Harold Israel	◊ 0/11	♦ ½/12	◊ ½/26	♦ 0/18	◊ 0/30	♦ 1/28	◊ ½/27	♦ 1/32	◊ ½/23	♦ ½/24	◊ ½/21	5
26	John B Hawson	♦ ½/15	◊ 0/13	♦ ½/25	◊ 1/34	♦ 0/6	◊ 0/10	♦ 1/31	◊ 0/19	♦ 0/22	◊ 1/29	♦ 1/33	5
27	Raymond Wallace Martin Baxter	♦ 0/10	◊ ½/34	♦ ½/20	◊ ½/19	♦ ½/14	◊ 0/13	♦ ½/25	◊ ½/30	♦ 1/29	◊ ½/23	♦ 0/18	4½
28	Arnold Yorwarth Green	♦ 1/34	◊ 0/29	♦ 0/17	◊ 0/15	♦ 0/22	◊ 0/25	♦ ½/33	◊ 1/31	◊ 1/32	♦ 0/20	♦ 1/30	4½
29	Andrew Rowland Benedick Thomas	◊ 1/24	♦ 1/28	◊ ½/16	♦ 0/1	◊ ½/11	♦ 0/9	◊ 0/14	♦ 0/18	◊ 0/27	♦ 0/26	♦ 1/34	4
30	Alan K May	◊ 0/1	♦ 0/23	◊ 0/24	◊ 1/22	♦ 1/25	◊ 0/14	♦ 1/34	♦ ½/27	◊ ½/17	♦ 0/16	◊ 0/28	4
31	(Derek) George Ellison	◊ 1/18	♦ 0/1	◊ ½/5	♦ ½/23	◊ 0/24	♦ 0/21	◊ 0/26	♦ 0/28	♦ ½/33	◊ 1/34	◊ ½/32	4
32	Gerald Bonner	♦ ½/14	◊ ½/17	♦ ½/6	◊ 0/7	♦ ½/34	◊ ½/20	♦ 0/15	◊ 0/25	♦ 0/28	◊ ½/33	♦ ½/31	3½
33	Stewart Reuben	♦ ½/17	◊ 0/4	♦ ½/19	◊ 0/21	♦ 0/20	◊ 0/22	◊ ½/28	♦ ½/34	◊ ½/31	♦ ½/32	◊ 0/26	3
34	Abram Bernfield	◊ 0/28	♦ ½/27	◊ ½/9	♦ 0/26	◊ ½/32	♦ 0/19	◊ 0/30	◊ ½/33	♦ 0/20	♦ 0/31	◊ 0/29	2

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"The Ladies’ Championship was also run on the Swiss System but with the players seeded into two groups within each of which there was an all-play-all [I have shown as an all-play-all - JS]. In the absence of Mrs. Pritchard, Miss Tranmer came out a comfortable winner, 1½ points ahead of the defending Champion, Mrs. Bruce. The most encouraging performance was Miss Peggy Wood’s in coming second." (BCM, October 1961, p287)

1961 British Ladies' Chess Championship, Aberystwyth (11 round Swiss, with 14(!) players) • 1960« »1962

1961 British Ladies Chess Championship		Resid.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Total
1	Eileen Betsy Tranmer	London	&;	1	½	1	0	1	1	1	1	1	1	1			9½
2	Margaret Eileen Elizabeth Wood (later Clarke)	Newbury	0	&;	0		1	1	1	½	1	1	1		1	1	8½
3	Rowena Mary Bruce (née Dew)	Plymouth	½	1	&;	0	½	½	1	½	1	1		1		1	8
4	Cicely Mary Murphy	Manchester	0		1	&;	1		½	1	½	½	1	½	1	1	8
5	(Patricia) Anne Sunnucks (later Mothersill)	London	1	0	½	0	&;	0	1	1	1	1			1	1	7½
6	Sheila A Corbyn (later Robinson)	Birmingham	0	0	½		1	&;		½	½	½	1	1	0	1	6
7	Deirdre Colmer	London	0	0	0	½	0		&;	1		½	1	½	1	1	5½
8	Margaret Wood (later Penrose)	London	0	½	½	0	0	½	0	&;	½		1	1	1		5
9	Mary Araluen Elizabeth Anne Henniker-Heaton	London	0	0	0	½	0	½		½	&;		½	1	1	1	5
10	Sarah Margaret Steedman (née Wilson)	Bothwell	0	0	0	½	0	½	½			&;	½	1	1	½	4½
11	Jane Sadler Rees1 (née Davidson)	Littleover	0	0		0		0	0	0	½	½	&;	1	1	1	4
12	Dr Maria Maclean	Abertillery	0		0	½		0	½	0	0	0	0	&;	1	1	3
13	Miss E S[hirley?] Mann2	Warnham		0		0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	&;	½	1½
14	Evaline Emily Feavyour (née Cleveland)	Saxmundham		0	0	0	0	0	0		0	½	0	0	½	&;	1

¹ Biographical note: Jane Sadler Rees (née Davidson, b 25 May 1884, d 1974)
² Miss ES Mann - there was a Shirley Mann who won the 1963 Welsh Ladies Championship and again in 1965 under her married name of Shirley Mills, but Warnham is in Sussex.

1961 BCF Major Open

1961 BCF Major Open		Resid.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Total
1	Robert H Northage1	Quorn	1/24	1/4	1/7	½/2	1/3	½/9	½/6	1/5	1/18	½/8	1/12	9
2	Michael Philip Furmston	Birmingham	1/17	1/16	1/13	½/1	½/4	1/12	0/3	1/8	1/5	1/6	½/9	8½
3	(Thomas) John Beach	Liverpool	1/19	½/9	1/23	½/5	0/1	1/11	1/2	½/4	1/12	½/7	½/6	7½
4	David Lees	Oldham	1/12	0/1	1/22	1/18	½/2	1/14	1/9	½/3	0/6	½/11	½/8	7
5	Ian R Bradley	Leeds	1/22	1/8	0/9	½/3	½/16	1/17	1/14	0/1	0/2	½/10	1/13	6½
6	Thomas Guy	Brighton	½/11	0/23	½/19	1/21	1/18	1/13	½/1	½/12	1/4	0/2	½/3	6½
7	Peter W Hempson	London	1/28	1/21	0/1	½/9	0/14	1/15	0/8	½/23	1/16	½/3	1/19	6½
8	Dr (Jakob) Adolf Seitz	West Germany	½/10	0/5	1/24	1/27	½/11	½/16	1/7	0/2	1/13	½/1	½/4	6½
9	Julian I P Simpole	Hove	1/26	½/3	1/5	½/7	½/12	½/1	0/4	½/13	½/19	1/18	½/2	6½
10	D W Bell	Solihull	½/8	½/19	0/14	0/15	1/27	1/22	0/18	1/17	1/23	½/5	½/11	6
11	Bernard Landon Wilkinson	Preston	½/6	1/27	0/12	1/23	½/8	0/3	0/19	1/22	1/14	½/4	½/10	6
12	Paul R Bielby	Huddersfield	0/4	1/25	1/11	1/13	½/9	0/2	½/16	½/6	0/3	1/22	0/1	5½
13	Arthur Hall	Hastings	1/25	1/18	0/2	0/12	1/23	0/6	1/17	½/9	0/8	1/19	0/5	5½
14	Richard Jessop	Hornchurch	0/18	1/20	1/10	½/16	1/7	0/4	0/5	0/19	0/11	1/25	1/26	5½
15	James Roderick Nicolson	Manchester	0/16	½/24	0/27	1/10	1/25	0/7	0/22	0/26	1/20	1/28	1/18	5½
16	Michael P Cook	Oxford	1/15	0/2	1/21	½/14	½/5	½/8	½/12	0/18	0/7	1/23	0/20	5
17	George Charles Franklin2	Wilmslow	0/2	1/26	0/18	1/28	1/19	0/5	0/13	0/10	1/24	½/21	½/25	5
18	Peter G Markwell	Ipswich	1/14	0/13	1/17	0/4	0/6	1/28	1/10	1/16	0/1	0/9	0/15	5
19	John Denley Mills	Pontypridd	0/3	½/10	½/6	1/22	0/17	½/24	1/11	1/14	½/9	0/13	0/7	5
20	Andrew Buxbaum3	Leeds	0/21	0/14	0/25	1/26	0/22	0/23	1/28	1/27	0/15	½/24	1/16	4½
21	Peter Coast	Glasgow	1/20	0/7	0/16	0/6	0/28	1/27	½/26	½/24	½/25	½/17	½/23	4½
22	Charles Reuben Gurnhill	Sheffield	0/5	1/28	0/4	0/19	1/20	0/10	1/15	0/11	1/26	0/12	½/27	4½
23	Anthony George Conrad Paish	London	½/27	1/6	0/3	0/11	0/13	1/20	1/24	½/7	0/10	0/16	½/21	4½
24	D Baddeley	Leeds	0/1	½/15	0/8	1/25	½/26	½/19	0/23	½/21	0/17	½/20	½/28	4
25	J R Holland	Cwm	0/13	0/12	1/20	0/24	0/15	0/26	1/27	1/28	½/21	0/14	½/17	4
26	Colin M Malcolm	Glasgow	0/9	0/17	0/28	0/20	½/24	1/25	½/21	1/15	0/22	1/27	0/14	4
27	Fridolin Jaeck	Altrincham	½/23	0/11	1/15	0/8	0/10	0/21	0/25	0/20	1/28	0/26	½/22	3
28	Richard H K Mann	Grange-over-Sands	0/7	0/22	1/26	0/17	1/21	0/18	0/20	0/25	0/27	0/15	½/24	2½

¹ Northage qualified for the 1962 British Championship
² George Charles Franklin (1907-1981): his surname also spelled Franklyn in some records.
³ Andrew Buxbaum (c1945-2016) - originally Andor Buxbaum, changed his forename in 1967.

1961 British Junior (Under-21) Championship.—The good entry for this tournament amply justified the B.C.F.’s decision to revive it and award the winner a place in next year’s championship. (1) David G Wells (Bristol) 8½; (2-3) Keith Bevan Richardson (Nottingham), Christopher Baruch Wood (Sutton Coldfield) 8; (4) (John) Anthony Sutton (Stafford) 7½; (5-6) John D T Boyers (Middlesbrough), F Norman Stephenson (Middlesbrough) 7; (7) Vivian H Woodward (Leicester) 6½; (8-12) David W Anderton (Wolverhampton), Colin G Burton (Birmingham), David Bruce Pennycuick (Liverpool), David A Smith (Leeds), Philip E Walker (Weston-super-Mare) 6; (13-16) David G Macdonald (Wirral), Samuel J Wallace (Hemel Hempstead), Colin Waring (Manchester), W B Wells (Dorking) 5½; (17-20) Colin J Byrne (Liverpool), Raymond J A Cox (Shrewsbury), John A Feavyour (Saxmundham), D H Long (Ilford) 5; (21-25) Colin Malcolm Bloodworth (Pontypridd), Philip Christopher Chatwin (Preston), R A Norton (Swindon), Roger S Scowen (Leicester), George Whitfield (Consett) 4½; (26) Gordon V Cadden (Newport, Mon) 4; (27) M J Hill (Derby) 3.

1961 British Boys’ Under-18 Championship.—(1) Richard A Beach (Liverpool) 10; (2-5) Kenneth P Neat (Sunderland), James E Scholes (Sheffield), Michael A Stevenson (Wolverhampton), Andrew J Whiteley (Oxford) 9½; (10-14) D Hustler (Thornton Heath), Victor W Knox (Wallasey), Kenneth B McAlpine (Glasgow), George M Sheldrick (Huddersfield), (Rex) Frank T Wood (Sutton Coldfield) 8½; (15-21) Nicholas J Argyris (London), G H Davies (Bristol), Alan R Fersht (London), Roger Keely (Wolverhampton), (David) Ian Wishart Reynolds (Wallasey), Ian Roebuck (Sheffield), Ian C Smart (Leatherhead) 8; (22-33) Anthony James Booth (Manchester), Gerald M Cohen (Leeds), Keith R Emerton (Leicester), Steven John Groak (London), J E Haynes (Cheam), Bernard Kooiman (West Hartlepool), C C Parsons (Yatton), S Rowe (Stoke-on-Trent), C Waites (Harold Wood), Andrew N Walker (Nottingham), John S Walton (Haslington), Robert H Wildig (Bristol) 7½; (34-42) Peter M Collins (Southsea), Michael J Conroy (Burnley), D W Elwood (Stockport), R G Greaves (Derby), J Hawkes (Leeds), John D H Milnes (Bradford), Alan B Slomson (Leeds), Alastair G Summers (York), R W M Thomas (Gloucester) 7; (43-56) Roger A M Allison (Prescott), Vernon Bogdanor (Uxbridge), Alastair I N Brodie (Forres), Anthony J Gillam (Derby), Roland E Graf (Leicester), W N Gregory (Sidcup), Richard G Jones (Aberdare), David N L Levy (Barnet), M D Moore (Sutton), Robin A E Shaw (Grays), John N Walker (Oxford), Graham Arthur Winbow (Wolverhampton), B Wood (Keighley), Geoffrey Alan E Wright (Wirral) 6½; (57-64) Arthur F Brameld (Gosport), Alan K Crombleholme (Malden), A H Fender (Sale), Roland A Gronau (London), Roger Leslie Paige (Portsmouth), John K Robinson (Leicester), P Ryley (Wirral), D W Thomas (Manchester) 6; (65-72) C Boss (Pilgrims Hatch), J E Crewe (Poole), P J M Edwards (Bristol), Barry Noel Green (Altrincham), C S Lee (London), Barry J Marshall (Malton), David Parr (Sutton), A L Wernick (Wolverhampton) 5½; (73-81) James W Dineen (London), Raymond J Gamble (Derby), P S Gregory (Stockton-on-Tees), A J Griffiths (Stevenage), Kenneth McNeill Grigor (Glasgow), P Jeal (Stockport), Peter Nicholas (Rotherham), Graham Kenneth Sandiford (Banstead), Robert C Vaughan (Hillingdon) 5; (82-85) H Dowsett (Bramford), James V Hodgson (Salford), R G Hunt (Chipstead), D Pearson (Sinfin) 4½; (86-89) B J Burgess (Ilford), A Huxley (Stockport), S J Stubbing (Portland), D H Young (Hutton) 4; (90) R H Jones (Aberystwyth) 3; (91) R D Scammells (withdrew after eight rounds) 2½.

1961 British Boys’ Under-15 Championship (1) Peter W Murphy (Blackburn) 9; (2-3) Ronald Moss (Nantwich), (Jonathan) Nicholas Wingfield (Wolverhampton) 8½; (4) Peter Cartmel (Liverpool) 7½; (5) Philip Almond (Blackburn) 7; (6-10) Peter Parr (Sutton), P A Thomas (Newport), Louis de Veauce (Englefield Green), Marcus Walsh (Leeds), Christopher Francis Woodcock (Liverpool) 6½; (11-16) Robert J Butcher (Liverpool), John Thomas Hearson (Mapperley), Thomas D Hughes (Liverpool), Herbert Mueller (Merthyr Tydfil), Alan R Prince (Liverpool), B Whitehouse (Oldbury) 6; (17-24) J F Brown (Blackburn), Leon P Burnett (Weston-super-Mare), D Crook (Moreton), Paul Stephen Nicholas Kendall (Nantwich), S S Lee (London), Terence Stanley Lee (London), D Morgan (Aberdare), Robert W Whiteside (Newcastle) 5½; (25-28) David C Ellis (Newport), Anthony M M Hurman (Weston-super-Mare), Brian R Smith (Stockton-on-Tees), William James U Woolcock (Stockton-on-Tees) 5; (29-33) A Baldwin (Halifax), R S Johnson (Brentwood), David J Jukes (West Kirby), D M Moore (London), Bernard Uttley (York) 4½; (34) M L Hill (Malton) 4; (35) Charles N Prince (Liverpool) 3; (36) A Davis (Halifax) 2½; (37-38) M J Edwards (Wirral), M G Lewis (Newport) 2.

1961 British Girls’ Under-18 Championship

1961 British Girls Under-18 Chess Championship		Residence	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Total
1	Verina Horsnell (m. Powers)	London	&;	0	1	1	1	1	1	5
2	Gillian A Moore	Southampton	1	&;	0	½	1	1	1	4½
3	Joycelyn McCartney (m. Pugh)	Liverpool	0	1	&;	½	½	½	1	3½
4	Marie Rita Tozer1	Wellington	0	½	½	&;	½	1	1	3½
5	Ann Holmes	Liverpool	0	0	½	½	&;	1	½	2½
6	Marcia Syme (m. Morgan)	Wallasey	0	0	½	0	0	&;	1	1½
7	Jean Pickles	Preston	0	0	0	0	½	0	&;	½

¹ Marie Rita Tozer (1943-1996)

First Class.—A A Collyer (Weston-super-Mare) 9½; G Chesters (Crewe) 8; B J Ellis (Luton), C Hatch (Southport), B E Knowler (Scunthorpe), and R H Rushton (Luton) 7; T V Parrott (Barnstaple) and Rev Kenneth Stuart Procter (Northampton) 6½; Rev H M Blackett (Hastings), B P Bourne (Hythe), A Milner (Didsbury), L Vine (Eastleigh), and W H Whicher (Talsarnau)6; T O Marsden (withdrew after six rounds), A Archer (Stoke-on-Trent), C R Nicole (Guernsey), G A Peck (Rugby), and W W Tatum (Brighton) 5½; P Griffiths (Warrington), H F Gook (South Croydon), J Taynton Evans (Newport), and R Williams (Doncaster) 5; B N Barnett (Aberystwyth), G A M Boswell (Liverpool), and E King (Sheffield) 4½; G W Holzmann (West Germany), G O J Melitus, W G Oliver (Cheltenham), and A T Watson (Worthing) 4; R Owen (Dorchester) 3; O Serck (withdrew after ten rounds) 2½.

Second Class.—R Julian (York) and M J McCabe (London) 6½; K Attenborough (Kirkby) 6; G[C?] C Hales (Crewe), J Salt (Chesterfield), and J Uttley (York) 5; N J Davies (Merthyr Tydfil) and H G Smith (Cheltenham) 4½; W H Thomas (Newport) 2; M H Vine (Eastleigh) 0.

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[Sunday Times, 13 August 1961 - by C H O'D Alexander] "This year’s annual congress of the British Chess Federation which starts tomorrow at Aberystwyth has a record entry of almost 300 competitors and a new event—the junior (under twenty-one) championship in addition to the usual events. The entry for the Men’s championship is exceptionally strong, only Littlewood, K W Lloyd, Milner-Barry and myself among the leading players being absent: an entry of special interest is that of Cenniak Kottnauer, the former Czech master, now a British subject. Either Kottnauer or the holder for the last three years, Jonathan Penrose, should win; if Kottnauer is in his best form, I should back him, but I think he is more likely to strike a really bad patch than Penrose. Golombek is a formidable championship competitor, but he has not been playing very much lately and is handicapped by a very bad recent record against Penrose (four losses in succession); Clarke is still rather too passive and Haygarth perhaps too limited. Barden can play extremely well in the championship but his nerves are still apt to betray him if he gets in the lead; I don't see Wade maintaining his best form throughout a tournament of this strength. Among the younger players Hollis is an imaginative player and the best of those in the early twenties, while Bennett did extremely well in the recent tour of Czechoslovakia by a London University side, winning against two international masters. My forecast (usually wrong, as readers know): 1, Kottnauer; 2, Penrose; 3= Golombek, Clarke. Best outsider, Hollis."

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[Manchester Guardian, 14 August 1961] "300 CHESS COMPETITORS Record entry for British Congress By LEONARD BARDEN, our Chess Correspondent Aberystwyth, Sunday. The annual British Chess Federation Congress begins here tomorrow with the record entry of nearly three hundred competitors. There is a good entry for the main event, the British Championship; of the leading players, only Alexander, Littlewood, K W Lloyd, and Milner-Barry are absent. The tournament is of 11 rounds and is again held under the Swiss system, a halfway house between an all-play-all and a knock-out. In the first round, the 34 entrants are paired by lot, and thereafter players with equal or similar scores are matched together. The effect is that the leaders have to meet their nearest rivals, and the winning score is generally 8 or 8½ points. Last year the main pattern was the clear superiority of the established internationals. I expect this to be repeated this fortnight, with Penrose, the holder for the last three years, and the newly naturalised Kottnauer taking the top two places and Barden, Clarke, Golombek, Haygarth and Wade all scoring around 7 points. The title itself promises to be a close thing between Penrose’s steadiness and the former Czechoslovak master Kottnauer’s enterprise. But it could turn out dull at the top. The favourites may reason that if they draw with all their six main rivals and win the other games they will total eight points and be near to a winning score. A plethora of short draws among the leaders would be no surprise. These reflections suggest a party of cosy statisticians, which might be gatecrashed by young players ambitious for places in the national team. The gifted Oxford University captain, Hollis, has the best chance of those in the early twenties. Franklin’s excellent positional play is overdue for a good score in the championship, while the local hope, the Welsh champion Bennett, showed fine form in London University’s Czechoslovak tour and should at least become the first Welsh player to top 50 per cent."

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ABERYSTWYTH : ODD NOTES [CHESS, 30 September 1961, p400 — probably by BH Wood — edited for relevance]

A player in the Major Open, observing that his opponent on adjourning had stopped his clock before writing down the sealed move, claimed and was awarded the game. On appeal, he agreed to play on, and won.

One player with bare king on his KB7 against a king and pawn on KR7 (nothing could stop it from queening next move) punctiliously sealed a move. His only real hope can have been that his opponent might drop dead during the adjournment. But it was in the under-fifteen championship, most of whose participants looked healthy enough.

Alan Phillips is one-sixteenth Russian. He is back schoolmastering in Derby. As S. [Stanley] Gibbins, an ex-Warwickshire champion has also moved to Duffield, Derbyshire chess should be strengthened this year.

Another little-known fact about a well-known British Championship contender. Dr. Maria Maclean (1912-65) served as a Major in the British Middle East Forces during the war — an excessively rare distinction for anybody foreign born. [JS note: Dr. Maclean's residence given as Abertillery in CHESS. She was born 7 August 1912, died 7 May 1965 in Cardiff. In the 1940s she was listed as an anaesthetist. Listed as 'unmarried' as of 1955. Her maiden name was 'Haim' and she came from Prague, being smuggled out during the Holocaust with other Jewish doctors by Albert Göring. She later helped prove that Goring had helped her and other Jewish people to escape Nazi oppression. Reg'd as a medical practitioner in UK, 1948, qualified M.D., University of Prague, 1937. Gazetted Lieutenant with the Royal Army Medical Corps, 28 June 1943, as Miss Maria Haim, married Donald James Andrew Maclean (also an army doctor - not the spy!) as Maria Haim/Bergman in Jerusalem between 1946 and 1950. Husband and wife both became GPs in Abertillery. Obituary, South Wales Gazette - Friday 14 May 1965, p2]

T J Beach points out that, though J E Scholes met the five other leading players in the British Boys’ Championship, seven of his points were scored against players finishing lower than 17th. Though R A Beach did not meet two of the other prizewinners nine of his thirteen opponents finished in the top seventeen; “this was true also for K P Neat, M A Stevenson and D I Reynolds, with N J Argyris having ten such opponents.”

A J Whiteley and V Knox, like Scholes, met all the prizewinners. Beach, Knox and Reynolds all had a higher “total of opponents’ scores” than Scholes.

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Stewart Reuben on his 8th round draw vs Abram Bernfield in the Championship (from the English Chess Forum, 30 August 2015): "We played and drew in the British Championship in Aberystwyth in 1961 From memory it was a 90 move marathon, 3 sessions, in which I played about 15 blunders which should have lost half point and he played about seven. This included my failing to claim a draw by repetition on at least two quite separate occasions. This success enabled me to avoid coming bottom. He had that distinction. No, I do not have the game. It delayed publication of the pairings by some hours."

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File Updated

Date	Notes
6 May 2018	Uploaded for the first time. 32 of the 187 games in the championship, plus 13 part-games, plus 22 games (and 1 part-game) from subsidiary events. My thanks to Brian Denman for his help in compiling this, and to Tom Guy for making his Major Open games available for publication.
12 May 2020	Added one game from the First-Class section, Whicher vs Geoffrey Chesters. Thanks to Brian Denman.
24 November 2022	Added two games from the Under-18 Championship: (1) R.Beach 0-1 J.Walton (rd 6); (2) D.I.Reynolds ½-½ K.McAlpine (rd 13). My thanks to Gerard Killoran for contributing the games via the English Chess Forum.
1 May 2023	Added the Championship game S.Reuben 0-1 R.Edwards (rd 6), sourced from a Yorkshire Evening Post press cutting posted at the English Chess Forum by Ingrid Ives, for which many thanks.
19 May 2023	A major update: from 33 games and 13 part-games there are now 184 complete Championship games from a maximum of 187, with one part-game (which comes in two parts) and two stubs. These have been input and submitted by Andy Ansel from the Eric Fisher booklet. Many thanks to Andy and Eric. As well as the Championship games, there are 26 games from lower sections.
15 July 2023	Added two games from subsidiary sections: (1) A.Hall 0-1 P.Bielby (Major Open, rd 4); (2) G.Sheldrick 1-0 A.Summers (Under 18). Many thanks to Gerard Killoran for submitting them via the English Chess Forum.
6 February 2024	Added the game R.Beach 1-0 J.Scholes (Under 18, rd 13), from Ronnie Ives' column in the Yorkshire Evening Post, 2 August 1962.